Harley-Davidson and Custo Barcelona present their exclusive ‘Harley Custo’

23rd March 2010

Very Mediterranean, fresh and colorful.

This is the impressive Harley-Davidson that integrates a surprising design and never before seen aesthetics in the motor world

The Harley Custo was born from a charitable proposal and will be auctioned off in the summer. The funds collected will be designated to the Fundación San Juan de Dios for its project in Sierra Leone

Barcelona, March 18, 2010. Harley-Davidson and the fashion designer, Custo Dalmau have joined their inspiration to create the exclusive Harley Custo. The result of this emotional experience is a unique Harley-Davidson collector’s item where Custo Dalmau reflects his creativity and the motorcycle builder and designer, two-time world customization champion, Ferry Clot, has modified, adapted and given shape to incorporate the designs and aesthetic brought by the creative.

The idea was born from a passion between the designer and Harley-Davidson which shares values such as freedom, independence and a deep vocation for designs with a non-conformist spirit. Custo Dalmau is a fan of the motor world and, in his beginnings as a designer, he travelled across the United States on motorcycle, a trip that was the source of inspiration of his first designs, as well as the start of diverse adventures on two wheels.

The fashion designer has found a new muse in Harley-Davidson, a reflection of his passion for two wheels. His creativity united with the talent and experience of Ferry Clot has produced this spectacular result: a surprising Harley Custo with a very Mediterranean and colorful aspect, inspired by the dragster sports motorcycles.

The Harley Custo, a transformed Night Rod Special by Harley-Davidson, has come from the encounter between Dalmau and Clot. Both creatives share a special pleasure for aesthetics that go beyond the conventional and, on this occasion, have fused their creativity in an altruistic way, creating a Harley that has never been seen before in the motor world.

Ferry Clot has modified, adapted and given form to the creative idea proposed by Custo Dalmau, compellingly influencing the bodywork, the parts of the motor, the chassis, the forks and the hubcaps. Absolutely each detail has been hand-painted.

In the words of Clot: “The originality of Custo Dalmau’s creative proposal has impressed me and created a challenge, because it obligates us to carry out a great transformation of the motorcycle from the structure to the look. It has been an extraordinarily exciting experience because Harley-Davidson has been very daring”.

The Harley Custo is a true work of art, larger than two and a half meters, that presents a unique harmony between the design and the lines of the motorcycle. An engineering project that the two companies proposed over a year ago and that has taken shape during four months of intense dedication, two of which have been devoted to paint work, all done by hand. Without a doubt, a job that was 100% meticulous and detailed, in which many modifications were made to create the final Harley Custo.

“We cut the chassis of the original Harley in front of the motor, with the goal of providing more inclination to the front fork and therefore achieving the dragster look that has inspired Custo in this creation. A look that stylized the motorcycle even more, because we lengthened the front fork by twelve centimeters” explains Ferry Clot, remembering his intent to create more fluidity in the motorcycle’s sporty lines. He adds that “the rear suspension had to be lowered five centimeters and we also changed the back tire for one of the wider ones in order to emulate the competition dragster”.

In addition to these transformations, we can include the modifications to the front and back mudguards, made by hand exclusively for the Harley Custo. The fuel tank was also elongated in the back and two exhaust pipes were added, shorter than those on the original model, made out of aluminum in order to make a sportier noise. For a more aerodynamic look, the front light was lowered 15 cm from its original position and the back light was replaced by a newly manufactured one.

In the words of Custo Dalmau “I was fascinated by the idea of being able to reflect the DNA of Custo Barcelona in a motorcycle like the Harley. Reinterpreting the fashion design in the motor world is very risky and I was impatient to see the final result, which was, without a doubt, surprising“. To that, Josep Grañó, Managing Director of Harley-Davidson in Spain and Portugal adds: “It has been a pleasure working with Custo and seeing the Harley Custo come to life. It is an example that defines the essence of both companies: free and non-conformist spirit with a positive and spontaneous look on life. We both enjoy and have fun in our professions, so the result couldn’t be anything less”.

An old passion between Custo Dalmau and Harley-Davidson

The Harley Custo is the materialized version of Custo Dalmau’s passion for motorcycles, who, at a young age, had diverse adventures on two wheels. The international fashion designer admires the Harley-Davidson look, and also shares a lot of its values. Both companies show a special taste for the original and different, in combination with a delightfully rebellious attitude and an untamable free spirit. The Harley Custo will join the designer on his upcoming international events and will be on display at some of the Custo Barcelona fashion stores, as well as in the official Harley-Davidson dealerships.

Harley Custo, a charitable motorcycle

The Harley Custo has been created with a charitable proposal. Harley-Davidson will auction it off in the summer and designate the benefits earned to the Fundación San Juan de Dios.

This health entity, entrepreneur of various humanitarian initiatives, touched the heart of both companies with its aid program developed for Sierra Leone, the second poorest country in the world. Statistics facilitated by the same foundation explain the cruel reality of this country: almost 6 million inhabitants whose expected life span is 42 years, an elevated infant mortality rate of 284 children between 0 and 5 years of age for every thousand inhabitants, and that, according to their figures, there are 0.003 doctors per person.

Since 1967, the Fundación San Juan de Dios is in charge of the Hospital of Mabesseneh located in the town of Lunsar, Sierra Leone, offering support through the contribution of medical solutions to fight off the country’s serious health situation. The entity will designate all the money from the Harley Custo to increase the health resources of this center, from enlarging its infrastructures, to the personnel or the medicine.